What is the Past Continuous Tense?

The Past Continuous Tense is used to talk about actions that were happening at a specific time in the past.
It describes actions that were in progress, not just completed.

This tense helps us show:

• What someone was doing at a particular moment in the past

• Two actions happening together in the past

• An action that was interrupted by another action

Structure of the Past Continuous Tense

The basic structure is:

Subject + was / were + verb-ing

Examples:

• I was studying English.

• She was cooking dinner.

• They were watching TV.

Helping Verbs Used

Uses of the Past Continuous Tense

1. Action Happening at a Specific Time in the Past

Use this tense to describe an action that was happening at a particular time in the past.

Examples:

• I was sleeping at 11 PM.

• She was studying at 8 o’clock.

• They were traveling last night.

Common time expressions:

at 8 PM, at that time, last night, yesterday evening

2. Two Actions Happening at the Same Time

Use the past continuous tense to show two actions happening together in the past.

Examples:

• She was cooking while he was cleaning.

• They were talking while the children were playing.

• I was listening to music while studying.

3. An Ongoing Action Interrupted by Another Action

Often, one action is in the past continuous, and the other (short action) is in the past simple tense.

Examples:

• I was studying when he called me.

• She was sleeping when the phone rang.

• They were watching TV when the power went off.

👉 The long action = past continuous
👉 The short action = past simple

4. Describing Background Actions

The past continuous tense is often used to set the background of a story or situation.

Examples:

• It was raining, and people were rushing home.

• The children were playing, and the parents were chatting.

Sentence Forms

Affirmative Sentences

Subject + was / were + verb-ing

Examples:

• I was learning English.

• She was preparing for the exam.

• They were working late.

Negative Sentences

Subject + was / were + not + verb-ing

Examples:

• I was not sleeping.

• She was not listening.

• They were not paying attention.

Short forms:

• was not → wasn’t

• were not → weren’t

Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

Was / Were + subject + verb-ing?

Examples:

• Was she studying?

• Were they waiting for you?

• Was he working yesterday evening?

Wh-Questions

Wh-word + was / were + subject + verb-ing?

Examples:

• What were you doing at 9 PM?

• Why was she crying?

• Where were they going?

Common Time Expressions Used

• at that time

• while

• when

• last night

• yesterday evening

Examples:

• I was studying at that time.

• She was cooking when I arrived.

• They were talking while waiting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ I was study yesterday.
✅ I was studying yesterday.

❌ They was playing outside.
✅ They were playing outside.

❌ When he was came, I was sleeping.
✅ When he came, I was sleeping.

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

More Examples for Practice

• I was improving my grammar skills.

• She was attending online classes.

• We were discussing the project.

• They were waiting for the bus.

Quick Summary

• Used for actions in progress in the past

• Uses was / were + verb-ing

• Often used with when and while

• Shows background or interrupted actions

✅ Tip for Learners

If you want to describe what was happening at a specific past moment, use the past continuous tense.